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Teacher Guide

1900s Logging Camp

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Dear Educator, Thank you for scheduling this History Live video conferencing lesson. This Teacher Guide will walk you through optional activities that you may use to enrich and extend your video conferencing experience.  

Contents Vocabulary

! Vocabulary Activity Suggestions ! Logging Vocabulary Words with Definitions ! Logging Vocabulary Worksheet ! What Does It Mean? Worksheet

Historical Context

! Historical Context Activity Suggestions ! Logging Timeline ! Time Travel Worksheet

Historical Analysis

! Historical Analysis Activity Suggestions ! What Do You See? Worksheet ! "Song of the Pines" Poem Excerpt

Reflection Time

! Reflection Time Activity Suggestion ! Reflection Time Questions

                                       

                                                                                                         

Vocabulary Vocabulary Activity Suggestions The following activities will get students thinking creatively, working together, and making personal connections to these new vocabulary words.  

Worksheet: What Does It Mean? Write it, define it, draw it, use it! Each worksheet has space for 4 vocabulary words. Choose which words to assign. Print front and back to assign more words.  

Lights, Camera, Vocab! Get on your feet and collaborate creatively! 1. Write the vocabulary words on the board for the students to copy, or print and distribute the Logging Vocabulary worksheet. 2. Divide students into groups and secretly assign each group one of the vocabulary words to look up and define. 3. Instruct groups to plan a short skit for the class that represents their word without speaking the word. Give the students time to prepare. 4. The class must try to guess the vocabulary word being performed. When they guess correctly, the group shares the definition for the class to record.  

Know & Tell Help them make a personal connection! 1. Assign each student a vocabulary word or let them pick. 2. Instruct each student to look up their word at home, and take/draw a picture or write a short story that represents the word. 3. Students can either hand in their projects or present them to the class.  

                                       

     

       

INDUSTRY a specific branch of businesses that provides a certain product or service

Logging Vocabulary Words  

FOREMAN the leader of a group of workers

MACKINAW a heavy, short coat, usually made of thick plaid wool

BARON a very powerful businessperson in a particular field

LUMBERJACK a person whose job is to cut down trees and bring them to a saw mill

JARGON special words or language used by a particular group of people

CONSERVATION the protection of natural resources from harm    

                                       

   

       

INDUSTRY

Logging Vocabulary Name:  

FOREMAN

MACKINAW

BARON

LUMBERJACK

JARGON

CONSERVATION  

                                       

                                                                       

Write It: Define It: Draw It:

Use It: How many of these words can you use in one sentence? Write down your sentence below.

What Does It Mean? Name: Using the logging vocabulary words, follow the instructions below.  

 

                                       

                                                                                                         

Historical Context Historical Context Activity Suggestions The following activities will encourage students to think chronologically, work together, and analyze important events in their own lives.  

Worksheet: Time Travel Think critically about your own experiences! Students identify important events from their own lives, and construct their own timeline.  

Our Top Five Cooperate, analyze, organize, and present! 1. Divide students into groups, and give each group one copy of the Time Travel worksheet. 2. Instruct each group to work together to identify five important events they have experienced together at school, and write them into the timeline. 3. Each group then presents their timeline to the class, explaining which events they chose and why.    

What's Your Story? An Introduction to Oral Histories 1. Instruct students to ask at home about important events from a family member's life. 2. Students then use the Time Travel worksheet to make a timeline of the family member's experiences.    

                                       

     

16

34

The first Am

erican sawm

ill is built in M

aine.

19

10

MN

lumber m

ills begin to close as loggers m

ove north or west.

18

70

MN

lumber sent to D

akotas, C

olorado and Winnipeg.

18

48

MN

logging companies

start to sell cleared land.

17

76

The 13 Am

erican Colonies

declare independence from

Great B

ritain.  

19

00

Minneapolis becom

es the world’s

leading lumber m

arket, cutting alm

ost 600 million feet of lum

ber.

18

30

Maine becom

es the world’s

largest lumber exporter.

18

49

Minnesota becom

es a territory.

18

40

The first logging companies and

sawm

ills are built in Minnesota, and

the lumber is shipped to St. Louis.

18

57

Major saw

mills in 5 M

N cities cut

20,000 to 60,000 feet per day. Most

lumber is used locally.

No

w

Lo

gg

ing

Tim

elin

e

                                       

                                                                                                         

Imp

orta

nt th

ing

s th

at h

ave

ha

pp

en

ed

:

Year  

5  

Year  

4  

Year

1    

Year  

2

Year  

3    

   

Tim

e T

rave

l

N

am

e:

Make a list of im

portant things from your life.

Pick 5 events on your list, and w

rite them into the tim

eline below in the order that they happened.

 

                                       

                                                                                                         

Historical Analysis Historical Analysis Activity Suggestions The following activities will help students think critically and creatively, and give them tools to analyze historical primary sources.  

Worksheet: What Do You See? A Glimpse Into the Future: The Last Tree. Students examine a real political cartoon from a 1901 newspaper.  

Poetry Corner "Song of the Pines" by E. E. Dickerson. 1. Give each student a copy of the excerpt from E. E. Dickerson's poem, "Song of the Pines." 2. Instruct students to read the poem, and write their own short poem about a specific place, person or memory. 3. Students can read their poems to the class, or the poems can be compiled into a classroom poetry book.    

                                       

                                                                               

                       

What Do You See? Name:  

 

A Glimpse Into the

Future:

The Last Tree. In 1900, logging companies in Minnesota harvested 2.3 billion feet of lumber. That’s enough wood to build a 9-foot-wide sidewalk all the way around the Earth! A Minnesota newspaper called the St. Paul Pioneer Press printed this cartoon in 1901. Take a close look at the cartoon, then answer the questions below.

1. What did the person who drew this cartoon want people to think?

2. What resources were needed to make the newspaper this cartoon was in?

3. If logging had never happened in the United States, how might the country

be different today?

4. Your Turn! On the back of this page, draw your own cartoon about a

resource that is important to you.  

                                       

                                                                                                         

Song of the Pines By E. E. Dickerson

     

Now, boys, if you will listen, I will sing you a song. It’s all about the pine woods, And how they get along. The choppers and the sawyers, They lay the timber low, And the swamper and the skidders, They haul it to and fro. Next come the teamsters, Just at the break of day. They load up their teams, For the rivers haste away. Noontime rolls around, The foreman loudly screams, “Lay down your saws and axes, boys, And haste to pork and beans.”... They all go out with cheerful hearts And well-contented minds. For winter winds do not blow cold Among the waving pines. They loudly make their axes ring Until the sun goes down. They shout “Hurrah,” for the day is done For the Shanty we are bound.”... Nine o’clock or there abouts Into the bunks they climb. To dream away the weary hours Working in the pines

                                       

                                                                                                         

Reflection Time Reflection Time Activity Suggestion The following questions will help students empathize, draw connections, and relate to people of the past.  

My Time, Your Time Reflection Time Q & A 1. Assign each student a Reflection Time Question from the following pages. 2. Instruct each student to read and answer their question for the class.    

                                       

       

1. Many people went to work at logging camps to earn a good wage. In addition to money, lumberjacks were given a place to sleep and food for the entire winter. Describe 3 jobs you would work for reasons other than money and explain why. 2. The lumberjacks at a logging camp must work together to keep everyone safe. Are you a part of any groups or teams that look out for one another? What are some of your groups or teams and how do you keep each other safe? 3. When lumberjacks arrived in Minnesota in the 1830s, they thought there were enough trees to last forever. By 1930, however, most of the trees were gone. List 2 things that seem like they will last forever. List 2 things that have already disappeared or run out in your lifetime. If you could make anything in the world last forever or never run out, what would it be and why? 4. Lumberjacks often traveled a long distance to earn a good wage at logging camps. What is the longest distance you have ever traveled? List 3 reasons that you might move far away. 5. The foreman, or boss, at a logging camp was sometimes called “the push” or “top man.” Do you have any nicknames, and how did you get them? Are there any nicknames you use for your teachers, coaches, or parents? What do you think would be a good nickname for the newest lumberjack at a lumber camp? 6. Most lumberjacks had one set of wool clothing. Wool is very warm and dries quickly, but it can be very itchy and uncomfortable. Have you ever had to wear something that was uncomfortable? What did you have to wear and why? If you had to choose one outfit to wear for an entire winter of working in the snow, what outfit you would wear and why?

Reflection Time Questions  

                                       

7. Every job at a logging camp is very important. If one lumberjack makes a mistake, every other lumberjack’s job becomes harder and more dangerous. Tell about a time when you felt like everyone was counting on you. Tell about a time when you were counting on someone else. Which situation would you rather be in and why? 8. Some lumberjacks would bring a musical instrument to logging camp and play music to help pass the long cold nights. Do you play any musical instruments? What instruments would you like to know how to play and why? If you could only listen to one musical instrument for the next 6 months, which instrument would you choose? 9. In the early 1900s, White Pine Trees were one of the best building materials because the wood is strong, lightweight, and decays slowly. If you could build yourself a house using any 3 building materials, what would you use? What qualities of these materials make them good for building a house? 10. Lumberjacks spent so much time working and living together, that they often began to think of each other as family. Is there anyone who you think of as family, but is not really related to you? How long do you think you would have to live and work with someone to start thinking of them as a member of your family? 11. In the year 1900, lumberjacks had hand-powered tools and horses for hauling logs. What hand-powered tools do you use today? If you had to stop using things that need electricity OR stop using things that need gas and fuel, which would you give up? Why? 12. Sometimes, older lumberjacks would try to scare the new lumberjacks by telling tales of strange monsters in the woods. Has anyone ever told you a story to try and scare you? Who told the story and how did it make you feel? What was the scary story about?

                                       

13. Logging Companies had cut down many of the forests in the United States by the year 1930. How do you think the United States will look different in 100 years? Name 2 things might be gone in 100 years? What new things might be around in 100 years? 14. Lumberjacks all slept in one large bedroom called the Bunk House. It was very crowded, but helped keep them warm on cold winter nights. Have you ever had to share a bedroom? If so: What were 2 good parts and 2 bad parts of sharing a bedroom? If not: What are 2 reasons you would like to share your room and 2 reasons you would not like to share your room? 15. In 1916, the United States Government created the National Forest Service to help protect the natural resources in our forests. What are 3 things you already do to help protect and save natural resources? What is one more way you could be helping? 16. In the early 1900s, lumber, or wood, was one of the most important natural resources in the United States. What do you think are the most important natural resources in the United States today? What natural resources are most important where you live? 17. In the early 1900s lumber, or wood, was used to make buildings, bridges, wagons, boats, signs, and even sidewalks and streets! What is lumber used for today? What other materials have replaced lumber today? 18. Lumberjacks used many different tools made just for logging. What are some tools you use at home? What are some tools you use as a student? If you had to pick only one tool to use for the next week, what tool would you pick? 19. The more dangerous a lumberjack’s job was, the more he got paid. What is the most dangerous job that people work today? Can you think of a dangerous job that you would like to work? How much money would you like to get paid for doing this work?

                                       

20. Some lumberjacks brought keepsakes to logging camp that would remind them of their friends and family. What things remind you of your friends and family? 21. Sometimes, the logging camp cook would bring lunch out to the lumberjacks working in the woods and heat their tea over a fire. Have you ever cooked food over a fire? If you had to cook a big lunch for hungry lumberjacks, what would you make for them? 22. Lumberjacks had very little room to keep belongings at logging camp. If you were going to camp for the whole winter, and you could only bring one thing to entertain you, what would you bring and why? What would you add if you could bring 3 things? 23. Lumberjacks only worked in the logging camps during the winter. What types of jobs do you think a lumberjack could work in the summer? Can you think of any jobs that people only work only in the summer today? Can you think of any jobs that people only work only in the winter today? 24. In the 1800s, lumberjacks could not travel by car or airplane to get to the Logging Camps. How do you think they traveled? How many different modes of transportation do people use to get to your town? What is your favorite way to travel? 25. Lumberjacks came from many different places and spoke many different languages. Can you speak a different language? What languages do you hear spoken in your town? 26. One of the reasons people became lumberjacks was to find challenge and adventure. Where would you like to go to find adventure? What is the biggest challenge you have ever faced?

                                       

27. Most of the lumberjacks in Minnesota came from other states or other countries. Where were you born? How many different times has your family moved to a new country, state, town or home? Which place was your favorite? 28. Sunday was the lumberjacks’ only day off. They would often play games and tell stories to enjoy their free time. How much free time do you get? What are your favorite things to do during your free time? If you could only do one fun thing this week, what would you do? 29. Lumberjacks were not allowed to leave the logging camps all winter long. Have you ever been stuck in one place for a long time? Why were you stuck? Was it good or bad to be stuck, and why? 30. Lumberjacks used special words, or jargon, to help communicate with each other. Are there any special words you only use with your friends? What is some of your jargon? Why do you use this jargon, or special language?